UB men’s basketball ranks 126th in CBS Sports college basketball rankings

The last time the Buffalo men’s basketball team took the court, it was a No. 12 seed in the East Bracket of the NCAA Tournament.

The newest ranking of the Bulls wasn’t as kind.

On Tuesday, CBS Sports ranked Buffalo 126th out of 351 Division-I basketball teams for the upcoming 2015-16 season. The main reason the Bulls fell to the 126th spot: the departures of former head coach Bobby Hurley and some of Buffalo's best players.

Here's what CBS Sports had to say about the Bulls:

“The Bulls made the first NCAA Tournament in program history last season. Kind of surprising, right? Bobby Hurley made it happen. And he's gone, to Arizona State. The best player on the team/best player in the MAC, Justin Moss. He's gone, too. Booted from school. Comedown year (to say the least) for Buffalo.”

Buffalo is projected to be the third best team in the Mid-American Conference. Conference runner-up Central Michigan leads the pack as the 85th team in the nation, while Kent State is next on the list as the 97th team in the country.

The Bulls are coming off the best season in program history - finishing with a record of 23-10 overall and 12-6 in MAC play. They won the MAC East for the second consecutive season and won their first-ever MAC Tournament Championship, defeating Central Michigan 89-84 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Bulls were then defeated by No. 5 seed West Virginia in the second round of the tournament.

After the highs of the program’s success came the lows of mass exodus on the coaching staff and roster.

Hurley departed for Arizona State after failing to reach an agreement on a contract extension with Buffalo. Joining him were former assistant coach Levi Watkins, guard Shannon Evans and recruits Maurice O’Field and Torian Graham.

Evans finished second in scoring and first in assists for the Bulls last season.

Just a month before the semester was set to begin, forward and reigning MAC Player of the Year Justin Moss was booted from the team and UB after he and two teammates were caught stealing money from a dorm room over the summer.

The Bulls will open up the 2015-16 season on Friday, Nov. 13 against Pitt.-Bradford at Alumni Arena. Tipoff has yet to be announced.

Quentin Haynes is the co-senior sports editor and can be reached at quentin.haynes@ubspectrum.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Haynes_Spectrum.